Ferbey, Gushue feud heats up

Team Ferbey's third Brad Gushue and skip Randy Ferbey discuss thier options during their afternoon draw against Brandon's Robbie Fowler at the 2010 Canada Cup in Medicine Hat in December. The team has since disbanded among a flurry of less-than-flattering words. (QMI Agency file)

TERRY JONES, QMI Agency

EDMONTON - HIGH RIVER — It was a damming public punch from Ryan Fry followed by an even more devastating private punch from Brad Gushue.

Take that, Randy Ferbey!

And that!

Ferbey’s detailing of the “effective immediately” break-up of the “experiment gone wrong” skipping a team with Gushue, Mark Nichols and Ryan Fry, resulted in a reply.

Ferbey, who told the Edmonton Sun “they quit on me,” was strongly told to retire in an e-mail dispatched to this reporter and another covering the event here Thursday.

“They are comments by a very immature man in Randy Ferbey,” wrote Fry of the 52-year-old six-time Brier-winner and four-time world champion.

“I believe it is time he decided to retire.

“It takes a very special person to take the frustrations of a poor season out on former teammates, no matter what the case.

“His recent vent is one that shows the need to stay current in the media in a game that has passed him by.

“The sport has changed and the class of players have evolved. We have become athletes. There is very little room in the sport now for competitors like Randy Ferbey. I wish Randy the best and hope maturity comes with retirement.”

If that wasn’t enough, Ferbey received a private e-mail from Gushue himself not long after he was told the contents of the missile fired by Fry.

“My first thought was just to leave it alone and let the reporters in curling, who have known me for more than 15 years, respond to somebody saying something like that about me. There are enough people who know that I’m a heart-and-soul guy. I’ve curled with hundreds of curlers and have been able to get along great with 98% of them.

“But then I got the one from Brad and, according to that one, I’m the worst piece of @#$% in the history of the world.

“What came from Ryan is not surprising. But what came from Brad really surprised me.

“I could say a lot of stuff, but ...”

Ferbey decided that he’d said enough.

If nothing else it sounded like Fry may have inspired him to return for another year with another team to prove a point.

“A little young puke like that is going to push me into retirement? Yeah. Whatever,” he said of Fry.

When it comes to the “should retire” comment, Ferbey isn’t exactly making a convincing argument for himself at the Boston Pizza Cup provincial playoffs.

For somebody who wrote the Ferbey Four book at the peak of their success, I’ll testify that this is one seriously sorry sight to behold.

Reunited with long-time, last-rock-throwing partner Dave Nedohin and a pick-up front end of Blayne Iskiw and David Harper, Ferbey — who was in last year’s final with his legendary former team ­— has managed to lose to the 11th and 12th seeds in the 12-team tournament.

Without a win, he’s one loss away from elimination going into play Friday and has, in a perverted sort of way stolen the show from Olympic champion Kevin Martin and world champion Kevin Koe.

“I don’t know what to say,” he said after losing 6-4 to 11th seed Geoff Walker of Grande Prairie after having dropped a 8-6 decision to Graham Powell of Sexsmith in the opening draw Wednesday.

“Make a shot. Miss a shot. We haven’t been able to put a whole end together ... I can’t remember having lost two games in a row in all my years here,” said the largely lovable curling icon who was joined in his misery by Powell, Glen Kennedy of St. Alberta and Dan Petryk of Calgary who also dropped to ‘C’ event in the same afternoon draw.

And who does Ferbey play Friday? Powell again.

“I’m scared,” he said.

“That’s not a sarcastic remark. The way we’re playing, I’m scared,” added the skip who is playing about the same as the rest of his team of part-time players and Nedohin who hadn’t played a serious game all year until qualifying for here in a short trip through the playdowns.

To come back and win this, Ferbey would have to win six straight games now.